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Abstract

In this article the author explains why he wants a new subject in the curriculum called 'Human Belief Systems'. Using the evidence of history it can be shown that some of the greatest shifts in scientific thinking were not based solely on reason, science's golden rule; a human component was undeniable. Austrian thinker Paul Feyerabend argued 35 years ago that if we see fit to remove religion from public education, then equitably we ought to remove science as well, since both are systems of belief. But one could turn his argument around: why remove either belief system from the education of students? If we want true freedom in education everyone's ideas deserve a fair hearing. The same applies in science, says Feyerabend. All methods, cultures and ideas should be weighed on their merits, and the integration of these may help to strengthen science. Dogma in religion or science is anathema to education, only serving to limit our understanding of the world. [Author abstract, ed]